Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
Functional Affinities Between Ōkuninushi & Daikokuten (Links jump to Kakugakuin University's Encyclopedia of Shinto)
The conflation of Ōkuninushi 大国主神 with Daikokuten 大黒天 in Japan’s Edo era (1603-1867) was a late and artificial development, one engineered by Izumo Shrine 出雲大社 (Shimane Prefecture) to piggyback off Daikokuten’s widespread popularity and thereby raise funds for the impoverished shrine. Prior to the late 17th century, Ōkuninushi was mostly unknown among clerics and commoners. Why? Because his mythology appeared almost solely in Japan’s oldest text, the Kojiki 古事記 (Records of Ancient Matters; 712 CE) – and the Kojiki lingered in obscurity until its importance was “rediscovered” by Motoori Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730-1801). Ōkuninushi also appeared in the Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (Chronicles of Japan; 720 CE), but this latter work omitted nearly all of his mythology. In other words, Ōkuninushi (an Izumo deity) was largely ignored until the mid-17th century, when the priests of Izumo Shrine began to aggressively conflate him with Daikokuten. Why Ōkuninushi? It is a relevant question, for Izumo Shrine’s main deity in medieval times was Susano-o 須佐之男, not Ōkuninushi. In classical Japanese mythology, Ōkuninushi is one of Susano-o’s descendants and the undisputed leader of the earthly deities. What caused Izumo’s clerics to conflate Ōkuninushi with Daikokuten? I cannot say with certainty. My guess is that it sprang primarily from Ōkuninushi’s close familial ties with Ōmononushi 大物主命 (kami of Mt. Miwa). Ōmononushi had been invited to Mt. Hiei in the 7th or 8th century. By the early 14th century, he had fused with Daikokuten (another important Mt. Hiei deity). See Slide 35. In similar fashion, Izumo's 17th-century conflation strategy undoubtedly involved preexisting affinities between Daikokuten and Ōkuninushi, along with some inventive thinking by Izumo authorities. Various affinities (incidental and major) are presented below. For a review of Izumo’s successful fusion (confusion) of Ōkuninushi and Daikokuten, see Yijang Zhong (2012).
1. INCIDENTAL. The 13th-C Japanese text Chiribukuro 塵袋 (p. 30 online) says Ōkuni 大国 and Daikoku 大黒 can BOTH be pronounced DAIKOKU. Says Iyanaga Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): “This may represent a possible conflation of the two deities, but it was more likely simple wordplay, without much implication.” 2. INCIDENTAL. Early 14th-C. Japanese text Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 (p. 29 online) equates the Miwa deity (Ōmononushi) with Daikokuten. Ōmononushi is one of Ōkuninushi’s many alternative names. It must be noted that medieval texts rarely used these names or other names found in Japan’s classical mythologies. Instead of referring to Ōmononushi, for example, medieval documents most often referred to Miwa Daimyōjin 三輪大明神 or Sannō Gongen 山王権現. The supreme sun goddess Amaterasu, moreover, was most often rendered in medieval texts as Tenshō Daijin 天照大神. Writes Iyanaga Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): “Today’s standard usage of classical names was only established in the Meiji era (1868-1912), although the practice was already common in the Edo era (1603-1867).” 3. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with snakes. Early images of Mahākāla/Daikokuten (M/D) are often adorned with snakes or with M/D standing atop a snake (see Slide 7). Both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki say the true form of Ōmononushi (aka Ōkuninushi) is a snake. See Kojiki, Book 2, Ch. 66, Philippi, p. 203-204. 4. INCIDENTAL. Both are landlord deities. Ōkuninushi is the original landlord of all Japan, whereas M/D was associated with India’s earth goddess (Pṛthivī 地天) in the writings of central-Asian monk Huìlín 慧琳 (737-820). See T.54.2128.366b14-17. In the 11th-C. Japanese text Daikoku Tenjin Hō [T.21.1287.0355b13], Daikokuten is portrayed as a manifestation of the earth deity Kenrō Jiten 堅牢地天. Asks Iyanaga Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): ”Was Kenrō Jiten conceived as male or female? Unclear, but the Japanese compiler of this 11th-C. text (monk Jingai 神愷) likely considered the deity as male.” In the early 14th-C. Japanese text Keiran Shūyōshū 渓嵐拾葉集, Daikokuten unequivocally appeared to Saichō 最澄 (767–822; founder, Japan’s Tendai school) as an old man [T.76.2410.0634b06]. See Slides 35 & 36. 5. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with the underworld. M/D is a chthonian deity. He was sometimes assimilated to Kālāratri (J = Kokuanten 黒暗天), the consort of King Yama (J = Enma 閻魔), the lord of the underworld, the world of the dead. Moreover, the flesh-eating female Ḍākinīs (Slide 33) are part of M/D’s retinue. In the Womb World Mandala, the Ḍākinī demonesses are placed close to King Yama. On the other hand, Ōkuninushi retires to the land of shades (yūkai 幽界) -- the invisible realm, the world of the unseen – after ceding the land to the heavenly deities. See Y. Zhong, pp. 26-27 for details on Ōkuninushi’s role in the unseen realm. 6. INCIDENTAL. Both have short-sized assistants. Śiva (aka M/D) is served by dwarf-like sprites known as Gaṇa (Slide 9), while Ōkuninushi is assisted in building (taming) the land by a midget deity known as Sukunahikona 少名毘古那 (aka Sukunabiko 少名彦), translated as “Little Name Lad.” 7. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with theft. M/D is lord of those who steal one’s vital life essence or one’s physical wealth (Slide 10), while Ōkuninushi tames the land with the powerful tools he steals from Susano-o 須佐之男 (i.e., the sword of life, the bow-and-arrow of life, and the heavenly speaking cither). 8. MAJOR. Both carry a big sack. In the Kojiki, Ōkuninushi carries his brothers’ belongings in a sack during their journey to Inaba. 9. MAJOR. Both are associated with rats / mice. M/D’s messenger is a rat (Slides 38-39). In the Kojiki, a mouse saves Ōkuninushi’s life (Book 1, Page 35). For English version, see Kojiki, Book 1, Ch. 23, Philippi, p. 98. The “major” affinities mentioned in items #8 and #9 were employed by Edo-era scholars to explain the conflation of the two deities. See, for example, the Japanese text Kiyū Shōran 嬉遊笑覧 by Kitamuta Nobuyo 喜多村信節 (1783-1856). 10. To borrow from Faure, p. 267: “We never obtain a neat structure à la Lévi Strauss (1908-2009), but an entangled knot that leaves us confused and bewildered. The networks of associations and permutations determine a field of potentialities, within which a precise and composite image becomes fixed.”
Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
a a Miwa Daimyōjin Engi Quotes from Anna Andreeva’s The Karmic Origins of the Great Bright Miwa Deity, Origins of the Great Bright Miwa Deity Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2010, pp. 273-296 a a Writes scholar Anna Andreeva (pp. 266-267) about the text p. 275. In “The Age of the Gods” section of the Nihon Shoki it says, “Ōnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命 Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 (Origins of the Great spoke to Tenshō Kōtaijin 天照皇大神 [Amaterasu] and said, ‘Now, where do you wish to live?’ She Bright Miwa Deity), dated 1318 CE: replied, ‘I wish to live on Mt. Miwa in the Land of Yamato 大和.’” We therefore know that the descent of a the Miwa Deity happened in the age of the gods. The ninth chapter tells the story of the great patriarch of a Japanese Tendai, Saichō 最澄 (767–822), who is faced with p. 275, footnote 99. The Nihon Shoki passage alluded to here actually appears following the account of the dilemma of finding a powerful deity willing to become the the creation of the land of Izumo by Ōnamuchi and Sukunabiko 少名彦 (see Nihon Shoki, Aston 1972, protector of Mt. Hiei. He first asks Katte 勝手 and Komori 子守, vol. 1, pp. 60–61). Amaterasu never appears in the original Nihon Shoki text. Ōnamuchi asks a the deities of Yoshino, who refuse and advise him to ask the mysterious guest where the latter wishes to live. The unknown deity then replies that it wishes to live on great kami of the north (i.e., to the north of Yoshino). Saichō Mt. Mimoro 三諸 [aka Mt. Miwa] in Yamato. Nihon Shoki goes on to explain that this was the origin of the then goes to Mt. Miwa and is at last able to procure an Miwa deity, and gives an account of its lineage. [Note Schumacher: The “mysterious guest” is none agreement with a powerful kami to be installed on Mt. Hiei. other than Ōnamuchi’s alter ego.] Saichō is thus credited with establishing strong and flourishing a bonds between the deities of Miwa and the Tendai school. pp. 248-249. Several important deities were enshrined on Mt. Miwa and in its vicinity. The deity Here, Miwa Daimyōjin Engi makes a powerful claim regarding Ōnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命, the “Great Name Possessor” (also known as Ōkuninushi 大国主, the the supreme position of the kami of Miwa, whose status must “Great Land Owner”), was hailed by both Kojiki and Nihon Shoki as a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男 therefore match that of the deities installed in the two shrines and creator of the land, or the sub-celestial world. In these records Ōnamuchi often appears at Ise and of the protective deities of Mt. Hiei. The Engi accompanied by a dwarf deity, Sukunabiko 少名彦 (Little Name Lad; aka Sukunahikona 少名毘古那). provides a crucial link between the sacred sites of Miwa and Originally the deities of Izumo, these gods were most likely of continental origin. Both Kojiki and Nihon Hiei by citing the “fact” that Miwa Myōjin manifested itself to Shoki include episodes in which Ōkuninushi (in Nihon Shoki, Ōnamuchi) is met by his own spirit arriving Saichō as Daikoku Tenjin 大黒天神 (aka Daikokuten) while from beyond the sea with a request to be enshrined at Mt. Mimoro 三諸 [aka Mt. Miwa] in Yamato, holding a branch of the ayasugi 綾杉 tree. More importantly, thereby becoming the deity of Ōmiwa (Ōmiwa no kami 大三輪之神). The deities enshrined on Mt. Miwa Daikoku Tenjin was one of the deities revered by the Tendai were associated with an early power center in the southern Yamato basin and received special school, as well as by the Saidai-ji lineage. The remainder of treatment from the early Yamato rulers. For example, official records mention a deity appearing as a the ninth chapter is dedicated to questions and answers mysterious visitor presenting himself to the daughter of a local chieftain, only to reveal his true form as a regarding the identity of Daikoku Tenjin, its relation to Miwa snake living on Mt. Miwa. This deity, Ōmononushi 大物主 (Great Spirit Possessor), played a central role Myōjin, and its efficacy in protecting the state and the emperor at the court of Emperor Sujin 崇神天皇 & was regarded by the Yamato kings as protective but fearsome. just as well as Amaterasu. One striking feature of this a complicated chapter is a reference to a myth of Hindu origin, p. 248, footnote 13. The name Ōnamuchi was recorded in a variety of other ways: Ōanamuji 大穴牟遅, namely that of King Kalmāsapāda (Hansoku 班足), who in Ōnamochi 大名持, and Ōanamochi 大穴持. This deity, credited with creation of the land, is also order to ascend the throne had to kill a thousand kings and identified by several other names, such as Yachihoko no Kami 八千矛神, Ashihara no Shikoo 葦原醜男, present their heads to the god Mahākāla (J = Makakara / Ōmononushi, and Ōkunidama no Ōkami 大国魂大神, to list a few. Daikokuten). It is understood that Mahākāla—originally a graveyard deity strongly associated with death rites, and by Bernard Faure, Protectors and Predators, 2015, pp. 50-51. As the protector of Mount Hiei, Daikokuten extension with the world of the unseen—is a powerful esoteric was identified with Sannō Gongen 山王権現, that is, the god of Miwa (Ōkuninushi 大国主), who was also figure who came to be venerated in India, China, and Japan, 大宮 日吉大社 eventually manifesting itself at Miwa. The last sequence of this worshiped at Ōmiya , the western main shrine (Nishi Hongū) of Hie Taisha , located at the section asserts that Daikoku Tenjin (a manifestation of Miwa foot of Mount Hiei. The fusion (or confusion) of Daikokuten with Ōkuninushi is traditionally attributed to a Myōjin) is at least as powerful as Amaterasu in protecting the scribal error committed by Kūkai 空海 (774-835) when he wrote the Sino-Japanese name of Mahākāla rulers of the country. FOOTNOTE 75: Iyanaga mentions (Daikoku 大黒 or Great Black One) as Daikoku 大国 (Great Country; also read as Ōkuni). The alleged Kalmāsapāda’s story in relation to esoteric enthronement confusion took place much later, however, during the medieval period. At any rate, the fusion of the two rituals (sokui kanjō 即位灌頂) and draws parallels between figures would probably have taken place without Kūkai’s “error,” owing to the functional affinities shared Mahākāla’s worship and the veneration of dākinī demonesses by the two gods. Deliberate or not, the play on words confirmed a preexisting situation. As the “original in medieval Japan (Iyanaga 2002, pp. 139–51; and Iyanaga landlord” (jishū or jinushi 地主) of Japan, Ōkuninushi—also known as Ōmononushi 大物主, a former 2003, pp. 150–52).” demonic figure (as master of the mono ‘ghosts’)—was indeed predisposed to merge with Daikokuten. Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
a a IMPORTANT EARLY LAND DEITIES SPECULATIVE → DEVELOPMENT PATH OF ŌKUNINUSHI IN JAPAN a a 1. Miwa Deity, aka Ōmononushi no Mikoto 大物主命 (Great 1. Mt. Miwa Deity (aka Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi) is introduced to Mt. Hiei in the 7th or Spirit Possessor), aka Ōnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命 (Great 8th century. The Miwa deity was probably Japan's "supreme" kami in these early years. Name Possessor), aka Ōkuninushi no Mikoto 大国主命 2. Mt. Hiei Deity. The original kami at Mt. Hiei was Ōyamakui 大山咋神. He is, like Mt. Miwa's deity, (Great Land Owner). a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男, and a fearsome kami who appears as a snake or arrow to 2. Izumo Deity. Both Kojiki and Nihon Shoki include episodes impregnate young virgins. The Yamato court worked hard to appease such deities, who "likely" involving Ōkuninushi (in Nihon Shoki, Ōnamuchi). Both say had continental [Korean] origins. In the Kojiki (Book 2, Ch. 53, Philippi, p. 178), the Miwa deity he is a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男 and creator transforms itself into a red arrow & impregnates a beautiful maiden while she is defecating in a (tamer) of the land. ditch. The begotten child becomes the wife of Jimmu 神武天皇, Japan’s legendary first emperor. 3. The Miwa kami & Izumo kami are different gods. Scholars 3. Saichō 最澄 (767-822) introduces Daikokuten to Mt. Hiei to nourish the new Tendai school. At the tend to simply & utterly conflate them, but this is not correct. time, Saichō was also certainly aware of the Miwa deity and actively venerated it. 4. True form of Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi is that of 4. 13th-C. Japanese text Chiribukuro 塵袋 (p. 30 online) says both 大国 (Ōkuni) & 大黒 (Daikoku) a snake and/or arrow. He is both protective and fearsome. can be pronounced DAIKOKU. Most likely wordplay, but may be early attempt to conflate the two. 5. When taming the land, the deity was assisted by the midget 5. Early 14th C. Japanese text Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 equates the Miwa deity 少名彦 kami Sukunabiko (Little Name Lad). (Ōmononushi) with Daikokuten. Although Ōmononushi is another name for Ōkuninushi, the two 6. Ōyamakui 大山咋神 is the original kami of Mt. Hiei. He is the were perceived as different gods, the former from Mt. Miwa, the latter from Izumo. child of Ōtoshi no Kami (Kami of Great Harvests). The latter 6. Ōkuninushi remained largely unknown and ignored among the common folk & temple-shrine is one of Susano-o‘s many sons. Ōyamakui was also community in Japan’s middle ages. installed at neighboring Matsu-no-o Shrine 松尾神社 & Kamo 7. In late 17th century, itinerant preachers of Izumo Shrine aggressively conflated the Miwa deity Shrine 賀茂神社. All three shrines shared a common priestly (Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi) with Daikokuten to raise funds for their impoverished lineage & ritual connections. Ōkuninushi is Ōyamakui’s shrine. They basically "piggy-backed" off the already popular Daikokuten to drum up money. They distant relative and undisputed leader of the earthly deities. also conflated Ebisu with Kotoshironushi (Ōkuninushi's son). Thereafter, Daikokuten-Ebisu pairing 7. Ōmiya Gongen 大宮権現 (Great Shrine Avatar) and Sannō and Ōkuninushi-Kotoshironushi pairing became incredibly popular. 山王 (Mountain King) are other names for the Miwa deity. 8. Popularity of Ōkuninushi & Daikokuten skyrocket in Edo era, even rivaling the power of sun The latter was conflated with Daikokuten in the early 14th C. goddess Amaterasu, the supreme kami of Japan’s imperial household. See Yijang Zhong (2012).
th 神祇拾遺 SAYS IYANAGA NOBUMI (email exchange, 2017): The kami SAYS IYANAGA NOBUMI (email exchange, 2017): In the 16 -C. Jingi Shūi (Miscellany of Mt. Miwa (Ōmononushi) was very important to the Yamato Related to Shintō Kami) by Yoshida Kanemitsu 吉田兼滿 (d. 1528), he writes: “In recent years, dynasty, perhaps even its supreme god before Amaterasu. In Daikoku is worshipped at Ōmiwa Shrine 大神神社. I heard a statue of this deity with three faces was the Kojiki 古事記 (712 CE), Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (720 CE), and created by Saichō, brought here [Miwa Shrine] in the Shōwa 正和 era [1312-1317], and installed as a other classical texts, he is represented as a snake, as a deity of divine object. People without knowledge venerated it as a manifestation of the Bright [Miwa] Deity. In water & thunder, as a protector of the realm. But he was also a reality, the form of this worthy has [only] one face & one body. He represents the appearance of dangerous kami. One must note that in Japan’s classical myths, Ōkuninushi carrying his bag on his journey to marry Yagami-hime 八上姫 in Inaba Province 稻葉國. the name Ōmononushi was also one of the different names of …….What he wears on his body & head is entirely Japanese garb.” See Slides 16, 17, & 18 a
Ōkuninushi (deity of Izumo 出雲). Ōkuninushi’s identity a incorporated characteristics from various other deities, including Kanemitsu’s theory linking the standing form of Daikoku with Ōkuninushi is interesting. Many scholars 嬉遊笑覧 Miwa’s Ōmononushi. Beliefs in the Miwa kami were “imported” in the Edo era (1603-1867) adopted this theory. Examples include the Kiyū Shōran to Mt. Hiei at an early date (probably before the Nara era). (Laughing Miscellanea on Playful Deeds) by Kitamura Nobuyo 喜多村信節 (1783-1856) & the Shintō Saichō was certainly aware of such beliefs & actively venerated Mondō 神道問答 (Questions & Answers on Shintō) by Saitō Hikomaro 齋藤彦麿 (1768-1854). The the kami. Named Sannō 山王 (Mountain King) after the god of latter tried to refute the theory (see Iyanaga, 2002, p. 343 & p. 512). This is also how Kita Sadakichi 喜 China’s Mt. Tiantai 天台山 (also named Ōmiya Gongen 大宮権現 田貞吉 (1871-1939) explained the big bag carried by Daikoku. Although this theory seems plausible, or Great Shrine Avatar), the Miwa kami became the principal we cannot simply adhere to it. Why? First, Ōkuninushi myths were mainly described in the Kojiki & kami of Sannō Shintō 山王神道 (Tendai Shintō). Daikoku’s largely omitted in the Nihon Shoki. The Kojiki was little known until its “resurrection” by Motoori conflation with the Miwa kami in the early 14th C. significantly Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730-1801). Second, statues of Shintō kami created before the Meiji era (1868- elevated Daikoku’s importance in Japan’s religious traditions. 1912) were rarely named (except Hachiman 八幡). Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017. a a a Miwa Deity = Sannō = Daikokuten Ōkuninushi and the Transfer of the Land Courtesy Iyanaga Nobumi (email, 2017) Courtesy Kokugakuin University, written by Kobori Keiko
The Miwa deity was venerated as a The "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri 国譲り) is a term indicating a series of episodes in Kojiki and Nihongi related to the powerful protector of Mt. Hiei. The Miwa transfer of the land of Japan to the descendants of the heavenly kami (amatsukami 天津神) by Ōkuninushi, an earthly deity was also identified as Sannō 山王 kami (kunitsukami 国津神). After Susano-o, the brother of Amaterasu, descended from the heavenly realm to Izumo and (Mountain King), the composite name slew the great serpent, he married Kushinadahime. Their child (according to the main text of the Nihongi) or grandchild for Mt. Hiei’s numerous protective kami. (according to one alternative passage of Nihongi) was Ōkuninushi. Ultimately Ōkuninushi and Sukunahikona worked In Japan’s medieval period, Daikoku too together to solidify the Central Land of the Reed Plains (toyoashihara no mizuho no kuni 豊葦原瑞穂の国). However, was conflated with Sannō. The early th Amaterasu and Takamimusuhi, wanting the land for their descendants to rule, sent a messenger to Ōkuninushi asking 14 -C. Japanese text Keiran Shūyōshū him to transfer the land. Both Amenohohi, the first messenger sent, and Amewakahiko, the second, took sides with 渓嵐拾葉集 contains a passage about a Ōkuninushi and did not report back. Amaterasu then conferred with the deities of the High Plain of Heaven and sent Daikoku icon installed at Mt. Hiei’s Takemikazuchi accompanied by Amenotorifune (Torinoiwakusufune). Takemikazuchi strongly urged Ōkuninushi to Mandokoro 政所 (Hall of Shaka; see transfer the land, and received the allegiance of Ōkuninushi's son Kotoshironushi, and defeated another of his sons, T.76. 2410 634b3-29). It states: "When Takeminakata, who opposed the plan, in a trial of strength. Then Ōkuninushi agreed to transfer the land, giving the our exalted founder and master opened unconcealed realm of the Central Land of the Reed Plains to the Heavenly Grandchild (tenson kōrin). Ōkuninushi our mountain, the earth trembled in six retreated to govern the unseen world (yūkai, see kakuriyo) while being eternally enshrined in the Great Shrine (Izumo ways, and from the lower part of the sky Taisha). With this, preparations were complete for the descent of the Heavenly Grandchild. There also exist different sprang forth an elderly man. He had the traditions relating to the above events. For example, Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko Kamu Yogoto says that the true countenance of the present-day Daikoku messenger sent down from the High Plain of Heaven was Amenohinatori, the ancestor of Izumo Kokusō. It is now of Mandokoro. This is the Deity of the thought that the episode of the "transfer of the land" as described in Kojki and Nihongi represents a mythical version of Firm Earth, Kenrō Chijin 堅牢地神 (see the process of state unification under the Yamato court. This unification was achieved over a long period of time both Slides 35 & 36)……Daikoku is a form of through negotiation with powerful local families and through military conquest. Izumo seems to have retained its ancient the Bright Deity of Miwa having political and religious authority until the very end, and it was only with its fall that final unification was achieved. This appeared in our country. In his original appears to have happened in the time of the emperors Sujin and Suinin.